Category: Meditation

Air Meditation

Air Meditation

 

Relax and get comfortable.
Take three deep breaths.

You are standing on an open cliff, overlooking a prairie below.  It is shortly before dawn and you have come here to do your magickal work.

The sky is muted, pale blue overhead fading into a gentle rose-pink near the eastern horizon where the sun will rise.  Relax as you stand on the cliff, watching the sky.  Whisps of clouds drift by, strings of gray stretching across the horizon.  They are distant and lazy, and you know they will burn off by morning.

~~Long pause~~

The air currents are still as you breathe deep in the chill, yet soon-to-warm, morning and your breath steams out, hovering in front of you.  For just a moment before its gone.  Now, step to the edge of the cliff and stretch your hands out to the sky.  In a voice that echoes across the valley call out:

“Eurus, Wind of the East!  Dazzling and Bright!  Aid me in my magickal journey!”

As the last echo fades away, you see a huge bird winging towards you.  It is a giant red-tailed hawk and it soars in to land on the cliff next to you.

“Climb aboard my back.  I will take you to Eurus, ” she says and you straddle her behind her wings and hold on to the lavender straps that will give you balance.  She crouches, then takes to the air.  Your weight seems to present no problems and you find yourself flying far overhead the cliff and the valley below.

~~Long Pause~~

The hawk climbs higher and higher, and you soon lose track of the ground altogether.  After a while the hawk heads for a could formation, soft strings drifting across the sky, which is the color of a robin’s egg.  Finally she lands on the edge of one.  “Here is where you get off,” she says.  “Don’t
worry, the clouds will hold your weight.”

You climb off the hawk’s back and find the clouds soft but substantial beneath your feet.  The hawk flies away and, in another moment she is a small speck in the sky.

You hear laughter in the distance, growing closer. A being of air sweeps up. The cool, crisp breezes of morning accompany him and he laughs again, and each breath washes you clean of cobwebs and stagnation.

~~Long Pause~~

“I am Eurus, Master of the Eastern Wind, “he says.  “Touch me and know my powers.”  You reach out and touch his hand.

As your fingers enter the wind-stream around Eurus, you find your mind growing alert, aware.  You feel clear-headed and your thoughts come rapidly and coherently.  Everything seems brighter, smells cleaner and now you see the breeze rush through your aura, cleaning away the stagnant energy that has accumulated there.  A rush of exhilaration snaps you to attention.

~~Long Pause~~

“You see,” he says, “My winds have the power to purify you, to free you from old habits.  I am the wind of new beginnings.  I am quicksilver, the wind of thought and communication.  In my presence you will never be at a loss for words.”  And then, Eurus gives you a feather.  It is from the hawk.  “Whenever you have need of my powers, use this feather to call them forth.  Or call on the hawk to bring the east winds.  “And now, “he says, “the next step of your journey awaits.”  With a rush, Eurus departs.

~~Long Pause~~

You tuck the feather away and turn to the edge of the cloud.  You raise your hands to your mouth and call out into the clear blue sky.  “Notus, Wind of the South! Firey and radiant!  Aid me in my magickal journey!”  As you wait you see a winged creature approaching.  It is not the hawk, but a gigantic bird covered in flames, golden and orange and brilliant red.  A phoenix… and it lands beside you.

“Climb on my back, and I will take you to Notus,” She says.  You approach her, expecting to feel an intense heat radiating from her body, but instead a gentle warmth seeps through.. You are protected from her fire by the Gods who sent her.  Climb aboard her back and take hold of the golden straps to hold you tight.

~~Long Pause~~

She takes flight and you soar through the air, rising toward another cloud. This cloud is huge, white…puffed cotton gone wild.  The phoenix lands carefully on the edge and allows you to dismount, then flies off again, a brilliant fireball in the sky.

You stand but a moment when you hear a laughter like thunder, a huge bellowing chuckle.  The being that approaches comes in a hot cackling wind and you feel the hairs on your arm rise, caught in static electricity.

~~Long Pause~~

“Welcome to the home of Notus, ” he says, and his voice echoes across the plain. “Feel my power and understand my radiance!”

You reach out to touch the energy of the Master of the South Wind.  As your fingers meet his, the wind sweeps down around you and crackles, electricity at its strongest.  You feel your mind lead with passion, the passion to act and to create.  Stories, poems…pictures, they all grounded here.  You feel the words swirling around you, they are just waiting for you to call them in. Your body shivers, this wind is sensuous and plays gently, caressing and teasing you, like hundreds of fingers tracing out patterns on your skin.

~~Long Pause~~

“You see, ” says Notus, “I am the wind of creativity, the wind that brings you the scent of new-mown hay where you lie down in passion with your love. I am the wind that precedes lightning.”  And then, he gives you a feather from the phoenix.  “Whenever you have need of my powers, use this feather to call me forth, or call on the phoenix to bring the southern winds.  Now, the next step of your journey awaits!”  And with a rush, Notus departs.

~~Long Pause~~

You go to the edge of the cloud and call out, “Zephyrus, Wind of the West! Gentle and Buoyant!  Aid me in my magickal journey!”  Watching, you see a winged creature approach.  It is a giant blue heron, and it lands beside you.

“I will take you to Zephyrus, ” She says softly, and you climb aboard and grab hold of the blue straps and find yourself once more aloft.

~~Long Pause~~

The heron brings you to a cloud that is darker than the others.  It rolls across the sky at twilight, hinting of rain, black and full of moisture.  As it lands, you climb off and the heron flies away, leaving you alone.

You do not have to wait long.  Soon another wind spirit rumbles up to meet you.  His face is somwhat mournful.  He does not laugh, but remains melancholy, yet you fee that he is at peace with the world and himself.

~~Long Pause~~

“I am Zephyrus,”  he says, “Master of the West Winds.  I bid you feel of my powers and stay as long as you need.”

You reach out and are swept into the storm.  The rain pounds around you, this wind is full of moisture and blows cool against your skin.  It whispers of peace in thought and action, of turning inward to look at yourself.  It blows through your life and cleanses you of old wounds.  It brings the rains of autumn to clear the air and make way for the frost.

~~Long Pause~~

“Behold,” he says, “I am Zephyrus, and I bring you to the joys and sadness of the heart.  I blow into your life when the mists are needed to cushion you, and I bring the fog to protect you from sight.  I am the wind of autumn, and of the beautiful sunset when the air is cool, when birds wing gently home. I bring fertility and respite.”

He hands you a feather from the heron. “Use this when you have need of my powers, or call on the heron to bring you the west winds.  Now, the next step of your journey awaits you.”  He drifts off , leaving you alone.

~~Long Pause~~

Once again you stand on the edge of the cloud and raise your hands to your mouth again.  “Boreas, Wind of the North!  Rushing and Mightly!  Aid me in my magickal journey!”

And then, as your call goes ringing out, you see a bird gliding towards you. It is a giant eagle, and she lands and waits for you to climb on her back. The straps you take hold of are black.  She rises silently and you know she is taking you to the realm of Boreas, Master of the North Wind.

This sky is grey, sparkling with frost, and you land silently, muffled, and the eagle rises and leaves you with no words.  A bitter chill sweeps down and you hear the wind whirl up around you, swirling with snowflakes, and Boreas, Master of the North Winds, stands gravely before you.

~~Long Pause~~

“I am Boreas, and I bring with me sleep, the winds that clear the trees of their leaves, the wind that cries out, destroying old patterns and habits that lie in my path.  I clear depression and anxiety and envy from your heart, leaving a void to be filled by the east wind.  Know that without me, there would be no beginning, for there must be an end to all things before new life can take hold.  I guard the road of the dead, and ghosts live in my cry, and old memories…. leave them to me, free yourself of your chains, I will sweep them up.

~~Long Pause~~

“And now,” he says, handing you an eagle feather, “you must attend the last stage of your journey.”

“Use this feather to call me, or bid the eagle to bring you the north wind. But be aware, I will most surely come.”  Sparkling with frost, Boreas glides off in the muffled night

~~Long Pause~~

You stand on the edge of the cloud and realize you have made the circuit.  All but the center.  As you watch, a winged horse comes flying up and you climb aboard Pegasus’ back.  It carries you aloft, far higher than you have ever been.  You are dizzy with the flight, spinning and whirling in the air.

~~Long Pause~~

You find yourself on the edge of a rainbow, and Pegasus bids you dismount.  As you do so, you hear a sweet singing, chimes in the wind and you turn to see a woman dressed in hues of pale blue and lavendar, with golden threads woven through the sliken veils.  She wears a necklace of diamonds and her hair is pulled back in a tight chignon covered with a net of spiders web to keep it neat.

~~Long Pause~~

“Welcome,”  She says, and her voice is the echo of spring, the call of early morning.  “Welcome to the realm of the Queen of Air.”

She invites you to sit on the rainbow bridge and sits beside you, bouquet of white daisies in her hand.  “You have journeyed far to learn of my element and so I will tell you of the nature of air, element of the East.  Know this: that without air there is no life.  Without my breath you cease to exist. Without me, this world would be but a lifeless orb floating in space.  I am essential, as are all elements for survival.”

“I am mist and fog, vapors trailing the wind.  I am the wind, and the breeze, the still currents of air on a got summer’s night.  Without me, fire would not exist, and earth would bear no life, and the water could support no fish.”

~~Long Pause~~

And then, the Queen of Air looks at you and says, “What would you ask of me? What do you need from me?”

Think carefully, then ask of her and listen to her reply.

~~Long Pause~~

When she has spoken, she reaches out and helps you to your feet and you feel the cool promise of morning,  beckoning you to rise from the bed, for a new day awaits. ” Slide down the rainbow,” she says.  “It will take you home.

And then she is gone.

You look at the rainbow.  It is steep but very wide, and when you sit down on it, you find there is no way to fall off.  You push off with your hands and find yourself speeding down the arc, watching the sky curve as you descend.

~~Long Pause~~

You breathe deeply, calming yourself, for you are traveling faster than you thought.  And you count down from 10 to 1, each beat bringing you closer to the earth below.

Fire Meditation

Fire Meditation

 

Relax and get comfortable
Close your eyes and take three deep breaths

You have traveled far, through land and air, to search for the realm of fire. Now you find yourself standing on a dusty road and you see, up ahead, a copse of trees, tall and dark.  It is near midnight and there is little light from the waning moon overhead.

The path leads to the grove.  The night is warm and the gentle breeze carries the lingering heat of the day.

The trees are mingled oak and cedar and alder.  Here and there a rowan hangs heavy with berries and holly peeks out of the corners.  As you enter the forest, a strange tingle runs up and down your arms and you feel suddenly drowsy, all of your senses are alert, yet it feels as if something’s taken hold of your conscious mind and it is lulling you into a hazy, drifting fog. But you feel no sense of fear, no sense of danger, only a sense of a great power watching you.

~~Long Pause~~

You pass through the wood, quietly now, drifting along the path.  Every sound seems heightened, every movement catches your attention.  It is as if you are supersensitive and you realize you could pass through this wood blindfolded now, if you had to.

As you continue, you see a deer flit into the undergrowth, and an owl swoops down and passes you overhead.  And then, you feel someone following you and you stop and turn around.  Behind you, you see a ball of light, glowing with green energy the color of peridot, floating gently in mid-air.

~~Long Pause~~

“I am to be your guide in this part of the realm of fire.”  The voice echoes inside your head and you know it’s from the globe of light.  “I am a will-o- the-wisp, and I belong to the realm of faerie fire, through which you must first pass.  Follow me then, to the grotto ahead, and do not tarry, for the realm of faerie is quick to catch the unwary and the foolish in its snares and weavings.”

You follow the will-o-the-wisp as it leads the way through the forest.

~~Long Pause~~

Now you begin to notice a shimmering on the trees, their auras glowing and sparkling bright.  “This has always been, you can only now perceive it, ” says the globe.  “Your first stop is over to your left.”

Just up ahead, to your left, you see a darkened patch in the foliage.  As you near it, a shiver runs through your body and your mind quakes, for there is a stirring of power around you and you know something very ancient, very primal, is there.  You creep forward and turn to gaze in the dark space between the trees.

~~Long pause~~

The blackness is so dark you know it must be supernatural, for it’s the dark of the void and the abyss that you are gazing into, and it holds you hypnotically.  Then, just as you think you can’t stand gazing into the emptiness any longer, you begin to see a swirl of sparkling color, a spiral, and the spiral forms itself into two glowing red eyes that pierce the abyss far better than any lantern or torch.

The gaze of the red eyes strip away your outer facades and masks, delving into the inner self you keep hidden away.  It is not malevolent, but strong and male and watchful.

~~Long Pause~~

“The red eyes in the forest at midnight,” whispers the globe of light.  “The Hunter, the Heart of the Forest, and He exists in the realm of faerie fire. Watch your step and mind your actions when crossing the woods at night, for He will be there watching you. ”

Quietly, you may ask the Hunter what He has to teach you about fire, and listen well for his reply.

~~Long Pause~~

“Now, follow me, ”  says the will-o-the-wisp, and you pass through the forest, listening to the calls of the birds.  You come to a place where the path diverges to the right.  The will-o-the-wisp floats down that fork and you follow.  The ground slopes steeply, and you see that it leads to a beach down below.  When you hasve walked and slid your way down to the sand, you see a small bay that kisses the shore.  The water is shimmering with lights, green and blue and pink and yellow.

You are overcome with a rush of joy and you dash forward, drawn in by the glittering lights.  With every step sparks fly from the sand and you stop to press your hands on the ground.  When you lift them, they are covered with sparkles.  Suddenly light hearted, laughing and unable to speak, for the joy in your heart is overwhelming any words you might have to say, you dance on the sand and watch the sparks fly.  If you like, you can wade into the water, and it seems like your wading among the stars.

~~long pause~~

Finally the will-o-the-wisp speaks and it says, “You see, faerie fire is an uneplainable feeling.  There are few words for this happiness, this intoxication, but it exists and is real.  Now come, back to the path, for I have one more stop to show you and then you will go forward without me.”

As you return to the path, you find your clothes are dry but the phosphorescent sparkles of faerie fire still exist within your heart and memory.  The will-o-the-wisp guides you along the path until, up ahead, you see a purple fire dancing across the road.  You must pass through it to continue your journey.

“Go now,” the globe says, “and when you pass through the fire of the phoenix, you will find a fine layer of ash covering your body.  The wind will blow it away, and with it will go pain and anger and old bonds that chain you.  The purple rays of the phoenix are hotter than flame, hotter than fire, and they will burn through to the core and leave you purified and new, ready for the next stage of your journey.  After you have passed through it, you will find yourself at the end of the forest, and a green fire covers that part of the road.  It is the purest essence of faerie fire and you will pass through it
and out to the next leg of the journey.  Good luck and good-bye.”  And the will-o-the-wisp fades into the forest.

You approach the flickering purple flame and the heat is so strong that you can only feel it as waves, not as actual warmth.  Take a moment, think of what you would have burned away from you, what you are tired of carrying around, and then pass through the flame, bathe in it, and come out the other side.

~~Long Pause~~

When you emerge from the phoenix flame, you fine that, indeed, a fine layer of ash covers your body.  The breeze sweeps up and blows it away.  Underneath, your skin is new and clear, and your heart is lighter.

The forest comes to an end up ahead, and there you see the green flame waiting.  You take one last look behind you and then pass into the flame of the faerie fire, the green fire in the forest at midnight, the green fire of Midsummers’s Eve.

It crackles around you, sparkling and magnetic.  It resonates within you and you feel your aura shift and change.  You body moves with more grace in the fire, and you feel it slide up your arms and legs, seep into your belly…sensuous, it leaves you breathless and waiting.

~~Long Pause~~

And then…you find you can shape your aura, you can change and alter it to your liking.  Do you want to appear taller?  Thinner?  More voluptuous?  Do you want to radiate confidence and strength?  All you have to do is use the faerie fire to shape your will.  When you have thought and done your working, step through to the other side and look at yourself again to see what changes you have made in your energy.

~~Long pause~~

Now you have stepped out of the forest.  Look around you.  You find you are in an open plain.  The grass is thick here, but grows sparser up ahead and you see the light of dawn rising to the East.  There are no trees after then line of the forest, and the path leads a gentle graded slope upwards.  Follow the path and continue your journey as the morning light grows and the stars fade from the sky.

It looks like the morning is going to be hot.  There are no clouds in the sky and the forest has become a distant memory.  You walk along the path, and up ahead you see a well.  There is a sign on it that says, “Last water for many miles.”  There are many canteens here, and you might want to fill one, for the journey is sure to be hot and thirsty.

~~Long Pause~~

The grass is sparse now, the dirt faded and compacted.  You start to see cracks in the ground as you go along; no rain has fallen here for a long time. The sun has now risen above the horizon and you are already starting to sweat.

You wipe your forehead and look around.  To all directions, it seems there is only the desert, with occasional outcroppings of stone.  As you continue your journey, your feet become hot and weary.  You sit on a rock to rest.  While you are sitting there, you hear a rustle and look down to the side of the rock.

A large lizard is sitting there, patiently watching you.

~~Long Pause~~

It is red, with stripes of orange, and golden eyes stare up at you.  Its long tongue forks out and it says in a wheezing, whistling voice, “I’m your guide for this part of the journey.  I am the Salamander Flametongue.  I will guide you to your destination in this part of the realm of fire.  You will need a walking stick.  Look under that rock over there.”  It waves its tongue towards a low, long rock near you and you find a walking stick that’s just the right height for you underneath it.

~~Long Pause~~

“Well, then, ”  flametongue says, “it’s time we were off.  Come now, follow me.”  The salamander leads you along the path, which is now a steeper grade. You pass through the barren land, and when you reach the top, you see a mountain ahead.  It is dark, with streaks of rust-colored rocks trailing down its side, flowing over blackened lava that covered the land long ago.

The black lava lies in waves, pillows of rock, thick and glistening with volcanic glass.  Strange configurations, some look almost human, stand frozen over the land, and the flow goes on for miles and miles, so vast and immense you can only imagine what it must have looked like when it first covered the land.

~~Long pause~~

As you start forward you find the path no longer exists.  You must cross the hardened lava, and so, using your walking stick to steady yourself you forge ahead, slowly working your way around the twisted rock.  You must be careful here, for the lava is sharp and full of rough edges. IF you fall, you could hurt yourself.

Flametongue leads you along the surface of the jagged rock.  Your feet slide along the smooth obsidian rock.  It is difficult to keep your balance here. At one point, your stick breaks through the lava and you see the end of it smoke as it touches still cooling rock.  You pull it out quickly, and beat out the flicker of flames that starts on its tip.

~~Long Pause~~

The salamander leads you a wide berth around that area and you find yourself having to really concentrate to keep your footing as you realize how dangerous this realm can be.

Now the grade is rough, and you are breathing heavily.  The taste of sulfur fills your mouth and you must stop and pour a little water on your handkerchief and tie it around your face so the bitter, acidic fumes don’t overwhelm you.

You are climbing higher and higher up the side of the mountain, and you see stream rising from cracks in the lava around you.  Flametounge turns and says, “This is a place of massive destruction.  But out of that destruction, new land is born, nutrients will weather down and feed the soil and plants will grow again.”

You curve around the side of the mountain and when you look over the edge of the roughly worn path, you see a long drop, two hundred feet down, into a lake of lava.  It boils and turns, twisting red tongues of flame dance on its surface.  At once terrifying and mesmerizing, it churns constantly as you watch.

~~Long Pause~~

“Come,” says the salamander, “we shouldn’t linger here.  The Queen of Fire awaits you and she’s not one to be made angry.”

The path twists away from the lake of magma and back around the blackened mountain.  You pass into what once was a forest.  The trees are now black; hardened charcoal and ash cover the land.  The salamander leads you off the dark lava and you are sifting through the ash, into the desolate forest, where you hear ghostly voices traveling on the hot wind.

“The flame consumes, ”  says flametongue. “It can burn brightly and drive you onward, or it can consume and destroy, leaving only the ash behind.”

Now you find your throat parched and dry, and you stop to take another drink from your canteen.  Your skin is cracking from the heat and you desperately wish for a cool bath, somewhere far away.

~~Long pause~~

“We are almost there”  says the salamander.  “You are nearing the home of the Queen of Fire.”

Ahead you see it.  A great fountain made from blocks of frozen lava, sitting in a clearing full of ash.  It’s a fountain of flame, and in the center of the flame, you see a woman bathing.  She is crimson and vermillion, and her eyes are the brightness of the so that you cannot look directly at them.  She motions you near.

~~Long Pause~~

As you approach, the heat intensifies until it feels like your skin is just about to burn.  She holds up her hand for you and in a voice low and crackling, throaty with passion, she says, “Come no farther or you will hurt yourself.  I am the Queen of Fire.  Welcome to my realm.”

She is sensuous, her body ever shifting shapes in the flames, and you feel the passion that throbs just below the surface of the energy here.  She speaks again.  “Hold out your hand, so that you may feel my power. ”  You hold out your hand.

At first you feel a warm glow, the warmth of spring mornings, the warmth of a breezy day when you’re in the garden.  Then, the warmth increases, and it’s the heat of the woodstove, warming you on crisp autumn evenings…and then the heat changes again, and its the crackle of bonfires and the smell of burning wood…then once again, and the heat is the sweltering heat of noon on a summer’s day, and sweat pours down your face.

~~Long pause~~

She speaks again.  “I am the drive of passion, and I am the creative force that refuses to be squelched.  Try to repress me and I will rise up and burn you to ashes.  Embrace me, use me with foresight and I am an ally you cannot afford to lose. I heal with my golden rays and I destroy to make way for new creation with the rivers of molten rock that pour from within the earth.  Now, what would you have me do for you?  What do you wish to create?  Tell me, and then listen and I will give you advice.”

Think now for a moment, then answer and listen for her to reply.

~~Long Pause~~

When she has spoken, the Queen of Fire bids you leave.  “This is not a place where mortals may stay for long.  The heat will burn you ragged.  Go now, there is a path beyond this fountain.  Follow it and it will lead you home.”

You follow the path and it leads you down a slope.  The sun is now a bit lower in the sky and the salamander waves good-bye.  The walking becomes a little easier, the ash thins out as you go and you see less and less of the stunted trees.

As you proceed down the hill, you begin to see wips of grass, growing through the soil now free from ash.  You follow the open path by a low cliff, and looking over, you see the path leads to the shore below.

~~Long pause~~

You twist and turn, going down, and find the walking easy and pleasant after you sojourn in the realm of fire.  When you reach the shoreline, there is a horse waiting and saddled.

You climb on its back, exhausted, and as it moves out, following its sense of internal direction, you find you can rest.  The spray from the water cools your dry skin and there is a fresh canteen hanging from the saddle.

You ride for what seems like hours, and the horse takes a fork that leads away from the water and you find yourself traveling through late evening on a path that is gradually going uphill.  At the top of the slope, just before twilight, the horse stops and you climb off.  You see, ten steps in front of you, the place where you started your journey.  The horse has brought you back.

~~Long Pause~~

Now, take those ten steps and each one will bring you closer towards waking consciousness……  Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two one.

Crystal Chakra Meditation

Crystal Chakra Meditation

I AM A CRYSTAL HIDDEN UNDER THE EARTH…
(this would be the Crown Chakra Top of
Head)

I AM THE PURPLE DEPTHS OF THE SEA…
(this would be the Third Eye in between the eybrows in middle of forehead)

I AM A BLUE CRESTED WAVE UNDER THE MOON….
(this would be the Throat Chakra)

I AM AN ANCIENT EMERALD FOREST…
(this would be your Heart Chakra)

I AM A YELLOW TEAR OF THE SUN…
(this would be in the Solar Plexus-Tummy area)

I AM A ORANGE PUMPKIN IN A FIELD…
(this would be in the area between hips-sorta/kinda)

I AM A FLAMING DOOR…
(this would be the Root Chakra-for grounding-near or at Tail bone)

Say this forwards and backwards at least three times a day for personal

empowerment. Thinking of the chakras as you do.It is very POWERFUL!

Achieving Inner Balance Meditation

ACHIEVING INNER BALANCE
DAY ONE – BREATHING LESSONS
Your goal today; mastering a technique known as belly breathing, which should be highly effective in helping you realx.  The belly breathing exercise below, adapted from Hendricks, will Maximze the flow of oxygen into your body by teaching you to breathe deep down in your diaphragm instead of high in your chest.  To begin, either sit upright or lie down with your spine straight; this allows the greatest respiratory flow.  Now relax a moment. 

Place your hands an inch or two above your waist, your fingers extending across your abdomen below your rib cage. In hale and exhale several times, feeling the abdominal muscles tense and release around and behind your navel.  Now consciously slow your breathing, taking five seconds to tense the muscles and five to relax them.  Repeat this a number of times.  then rest about 30 seconds.Now close your eyes and feel your abdomen with your hands. Breathe in deeply, feeling your belly expand.  Then breathe out, feeling it fall and relax.  Inhalation and exhalation should be connected in a smooth, circular pattern.  Keep breathing in and out slowly and deeply for several minutes, feeling the rise and fall of your abdomen with your hands.  when you’ve had enough, rest quietly for a few moments.

Practice belly breathing once or twice a day during the program. then use the technique whenever you want to decrease stress and increase relaxation.

DAY TWO – EMPTYING
For big gains in centering, you must enter a meditative state in which you can patiently focus on your inner self.  Toward that end, you will now master the technique of “emptying”, in which you clear your mind of distracting thoughts and emotions.  Once your mind is empty, you wil be able to seek the guidance of your spontaneous, intuitive self.

Before you begin, take a shower, or at least wash your face, hands, and feet.  then put on freshly laundered, light-weight, loose-fitting clothes.

Now practice the belly breathing excercise from Day One.  when you are completely relaxed, sit with your spinal cord erect and continue to focus on your breath. Feel its continuous presence as it rises and falls against your abdominal wall and moves millimeter by millimeter through your system. 

Breathe in as quietly and slowly as possible, so that if somebody placed a tiny thread in from of your nose, it wouldn’t budge.  Exhale even more slowly.  Leave a tiny pause (or even hold your breath a moment) between each exhalation and inhalation.  This fixation on your breath will stop
intrusive thoughts.  Inevitably some feelings, impressions, or physical sensations will invade, but let them float away int he movement and rhythm of your breath.  Eventually your thoughts will slow to a few per minute.

Now close your eyes and focus on the sensation of purity and emptiness.  If you would like a visual mape to help you capture the sensation of emptiness, you may envision an unblemished field of snow or an endless screen of soft white light.  Let the emptiness wash over you completely for several minutes, draining your mind.

DAY THREE: BALANCING ACT
Mastering breathing and emptying will give you the peace and silence you need for the bone marrow work of centering-balancing your body and mind.  To help you achieve this goal. 

Day Three taps an aikido-based guided imagery exercise adapted from George Leonard’s “Inner Enery Workout”.

An hour or so before you begin your session for Day Three, please have the instructions below recorded on a cassette tape. (You may record the instructions yourself or have them recorded on a tape by a close friend)  Remember to have the reader pause where indicated:

TO GO ON CASSETTE:
Stand up and spread your feet at about shoulder width, settling into a strong and comfortable stance.  With your left palm touch your abdomen an inch or two below your navel-the physical center of your body.  Run your hand gently over this area for about a minute.  Focus on it and feel at home with it.

(PAUSE FOR ABOUT THIRTY SECONDS)
Now you will release tension by shaking your hands hard in front of your, your wrists relaxed, until your whole body vibrates.  As you exhale, make an extended vowel sound such as “ahhhhhhh” so you hear the vibration in your voice and feel it resonating in your chest.  Now drop your hands limp in front of your, then let them float up as if in warm salt water.  As your hands rise, bend your knees slightly, lowering yourself into the warmth of the salt sea.  Feel your buoyancy.  Form a beach ball with your hands and give it a gentle push across the water’s surface.

Now stand up straight again.  Shake out your hands once more and let them drop limp to your sides.  Close your eyes.  Make sure your weight is evenly distributed between the heels and balls of your feet; shift your weight slightly forward and back and side to side, balancing, as if fine-tuning a distant radio station. Your knees should be neither locked nor bent, you’re acat relaxed yet poised to spring.  Now make sure your head is balanced.  Let your jaw hang open.  Release the tension in your tongue, eyelids, forehead, temple, scalp, and back of your neck.

(PAUSE BRIEFLY)
Breathe sharply in as your raise and tighten your shoulders.  Exhale and let them down like soft, warm chocolate.  Feel the chocolate slowly melting down your back, shoulder blades, arms, and hands.  Feel it moving down your rib cage to your diaphragm, melting your internal organs and pelvic region.  Feel the chocolate melting down your legs, past your knees, to your feet, warming the surface beneath them, melting them into the ground.  Feel the embrace of gravity holding you to the
earth and the earth to you.

Relax………

(END TAPE)
A few hours after the recording has been made, retire to your room and go through the belly breathing and emptying techniques.  After completing these warm-ups, play your tape.

DAY FOUR – THE INNER CIRCLE
The circular drawings call mandalas (check your local library if you are not familiar with the mandalas) have long facilitated self-discovery.  In Tibetan Buddhism, people focus on mandalas as an aid in mediation and concentration.  Carl Jung had his patients draw mandalas so they could see their problems from a broader perspective by projecting them onto a universal form.

Many experts believe that the empty field of the mandala resembles a movie screen upon which your unconscious projects your inner live.  As you express your inner self through the mandala, a new sense of balance can emerge.

Before you begin this exercise, retire to your special room and go through the belly breathing and emptying techniques.  Then take a piece of white paper, 12 inches by 18 inches or larger so you won’t feel constrained.  Lay a plate or a pot lid atop the paper. Outline the plate with a crayon, colored pencil, paintbrush, or any colorful drawing tool.  Then take out the rest of your crayons, paints, or pastels, pick a color, and draw something inside the circle.  Spontaneously create anything you want.  Immediately do two more mandalas. 

Afterward, gaze at the patterns while thinking nothing.  Don’t try to figure out what they mean.  The process of creation helps you down the path to the unknown self.

DAY FIVE – SEEK THE INTUITIVE SELF
Once you’re feeling balanced, your search can advance inward toward the self.  On Day Five you will learn to tap your intuitive powers through an exercise adapted from intuition expert Helen Palmer.  As you learn to focus your concentration and awareness inward, Palmer says, true intuition will replace your erroneous impressions of the world.

To start your session for Day Five, go to your special room and practice belly breathing and emptying techniques.  Then select a single situation, person, or event that you want to focus on. Choose an image or impression to represent your choice and focus on it fully.  Just be alone with the impression, forming as deep and relaxed a relationship with it as you can for several minutes. Become one with the image and with whatever it represents.  As you repeat this process, you’ll become much more attuned on a deep intuitive level to people, places and things.

Welcoming The Dawn Meditation

Welcoming The Dawn Meditation
In many spiritual traditions dawn–when the world is at its most peaceful–is regarded as an ideal time for meditation. Just before dawn go outside and find a place to sit and watch the sunrise. As the sun emerges above the horizon, fill your awareness with brightening hues of the sky and rejoice in the beauty of the new day. Feel the golden rays of the sun warm your face and allow hope to fill your heart and refresh your spirit. You have started the day well.
If the weather is poor or you are unable to get a clear view of the sunrise, visualize the dawn instead.

The Unnatural Positions Meditation

The Unnatural Positions Meditation

 

A sure way to relax your body is to have your arms and legs relaxed. If your extremities are tension-free, so will be your mind and emotions, and you will tend to become drowsy and sleepy. So, for example, when we are in a business meeting, we habitually sit in a way that we have become used to, and invariably soon have to fight the urge to fall asleep. Let’s do a demonstration. Right now, cross your legs the way you always do. You will have either your right leg over your left or vice versa. Or, you will have your right ankle over your left, or vice versa. Feels good, right? Now, interlace your fingers. Your right thumb will be over your left thumb, your right index finger over your left, and so on, or vice versa. Now just sit there for about 108 seconds and enjoy how relaxing your habitual posture is, and how comfortable it makes you feel.

Now, cross your legs and interlace your fingers the opposite way. So, if you usually have your right foot crossed over your left and have your left thumb over your right, now put your left foot over your right and interlace all your fingers starting with your right thumb over your left. Now sit there for about 108 seconds.

O.K. Fine, now you see. It is only a small change, just as a pea under a mattress is, but it is annoying enough to keep you awake. Now you can pay attention. You will not be able to fall asleep even if you want to. We are so habituated to our comfy conditioning manner of sitting that anything that is different makes a huge impression on us, overly annoying us and thus waking us up. So now you can pay attention to the boss, the teacher, the priest, or your mother-in-law, or whomever. But most importantly you can now pay attention to the present moment, and it is only in the present that your merging with the universe will take place. You must be present to receive this divine, truly royal present. This little change in physical discomfort can lead to your eternal spiritual comfort. Try it, be annoyed, wake up, and live happily ever after.

Meditation on the Pentacle and Earth

Meditation on the Pentacle and Earth

Into a dark world comes the dawn, the start of a new day coming from the East. The powers of Earth spring from the same source. Buds burst forth into new growth. Animals come out to look at the world as it blooms again and fill their bellies once more, the starvation and hunger of winter at an end. The Earth is our foundation and our stability as we learn to frolic and play.

The powers of Earth are vast and abundant. When she is angry, the ground shakes and trembles, warning us to change our actions and helping to shake us free from standing around and watching life pass us by. The gifts she gives are boundless.

If this element were to be placed on the face of a clock, following the path of the sun, it would be in the east, at dawn, when time is new and the earth is just beginning to burst forth with new life. It is a light, creative time that holds the promise of the day to come.

Similarly, the moon rises in the west, and if a witch wished to follow the lunar cycle, the element would be placed there. The new, waxing moon is a time of promise of things to come. It is a time of bringing things into being and manifesting growth into the world. This is the time of the Maiden, of the Huntress, those who hold the reins of creativity and inspiration.

The earth, for a witch, is symbolized by the pentacle. It may be as elaborate or as simple as is meaningful. Simple rocks have been used along with things as complex as sun catchers, crystal plates, and hand thrown pottery. It is the foundation to all a witch’s works and all her spells and magick. It helps to keep them stable and able to work their magick and let go of themselves into ecstatic states, knowing they will find their way back.

If a stone is to be used, the best kinds are ones that are found out on one of the walks or trips that the witch takes. Tumbled or polished ones will work, but they are somewhat distracting from the natural ties that the pentacle has to the earth at times. If you want a shiny one, purchase a small rock tumbler (Most are less than $20.00) and tumble the rocks that you find outside on your own. Granite also works well, if there is a source nearby, since it has both a rough surface and a glossy one.

Marble is another choice, if available, that is a good option if a fancier pentacle is desired. Since the pentacle represents the north and is the stability that a witch ties her spells to as she casts them, it is the anchor point for a circle. Make certain that your pentacle is sturdy enough to take the strain of these things before you acquire and consecrate it.

Meditation on Thinking and Believing

Meditation on Thinking and Believing

In a world as fast paced and technological as this, it is sometimes hard to come face to face with something that we do not understand. Even this book is a modern miracle. It was created on a PC, typeset on a different PC, send off to the publisher where it was loaded onto still other machinery, and copied at an incredible rate of speed. Someone created the cover picture and loaded it into a form that computerized machinery could use, and it was printed off nearly as fast.

Finally, the cover and the book were bound on still more machinery and the books were packed and placed onto a truck for delivery to your local bookstore. We exist outside of natural time. Instead of rising with the dawn and working until it is dark, we set our alarms to wake us, dash off to work, come home, and continue to work long into the night under the glaring false light of technology.

We can see tiny cells that are far to small to see with the naked eye, and fall victim to high tech crime and other problems. Every day brings new discoveries of still smaller and smaller particles and creations. We analyze everything until we understand it in the smallest detail possible. Why? So that we can think we understand it. We fool ourselves into believing that everything can be rationally explained.

But what about the things that we can’t explain? What about the things we can explain but that words just do not describe well? The birth of a child is a miracle in action. Through our research, we can describe what is physically happening throughout the entire development from fertilized egg to human. Yet, those same words cannot hope to ever express the miracle of two single cells coming together to create the marvelously complex beings that we call people. It cannot describe what a soul is or how it comes to be there. It cannot describe the bond that exists between mother and child, or the wonder in the eyes of that child as it learns about its new world.

Thinking and believing have a place in the world. We could not get along without it. However, it is far from sufficient to strive to explain everything there is through this process. Some things should be left as what they are. Miracles. Faith. Mysteries.

(Meditate on these ideas for several days in succession)

Meditation on Knowing and Faith

Meditation on Knowing and Faith

When a person is alone in the woods, lost, and faced with the decision of which way to go to get out of the woods with no information, how does he find his way out again? When a witch is faced with trying to figure out what is needed to heal someone or what is necessary to do a spell, how does she decide?

Deep inside of each witch is a spot that holds our Self. This Self can tell us many things, what ritual is right to do, which way to turn when lost, what herbs and oils are needed for the upcoming ritual. It holds many answers if a person can learn to listen to that quiet space. It is much like journeying to your own center and just sitting and listening to what comes.

Witches can find out things from other places as well. They are given answers by their spirit guides. Sometimes the answers just pop into their heads and they blink and wonder why they could not figure that out on their own. This is the essence of what knowing is. It is not worrying about where the answer came from or whether it is right, because the witch just knows that it is.

It is a difficult skill to learn, and an even more difficult one to accept. While you are learning, you will question whether or not the answers are coming from somewhere else or whether you are just making them up in your head. On occasion, no answer will come. How do you know that you are not deluding yourself? Essentially, you do not know this. As you work more with your skills, and as you learn more about the world around you and what your beliefs are, you will come to realize that it does not matter where it comes from. It doesn’t matter if it comes from deep in your subconscious and you are just playing games to get to where you can understand it or whether it comes from outside yourself entirely. When you feel that an answer is right, you can accept that you may never know where it came from and simply use it.

Throughout time, every religion has been asked to prove its beliefs. Solid, tangible proof has been demanded for everything from the existence of God to the ability of people to “just know” things. Oracles have been required to try to show how they are not really cheats and hustlers that have no special powers. Atheists, time and again, will try to prove that you are deluding yourself about the existence of higher powers and special abilities. Magick is not really, they will tell you, because there is no way to measure the results because they are so subjective.

There is no way to prove that God exists. This is proof, to someone with no faith, that there really is no God. By using a circular pattern of reasoning, they avoid having to think about things that confuse or disturb them. The things that cannot be measured are ignored.

Faith is the ability, like knowing, to believe in something while asking for no physical proof of its existence. It is the ability to suspend the reasoning mind for a while about something while leaving it active for everything else. Perhaps it is nothing more than the suspension of disbelief, and is not so strange after all.

It does not matter to someone who comes to you for healing whether it was the spell or ritual itself that heals them or whether it is their own faith and belief that it can heal them that brings about the state. The important thing is that they have been healed. We have faith that it was the magick that was done, but the truth of the matter is, it does not make a difference which it was that healed them.

The mind is a powerful tool that must be taught and shown how to work. Faith and belief are two ways of tricking it into working with little or no understanding of what is going on in reality. When you do a binding on a person and their behavior changed, has the magick worked? Maybe. If the person did not know what you were doing, behavior change might signal the existence of magick. Or, instead, it could simply be that the person has realized that what they were doing was wrong and changed their behavior. Does it matter which one it was? No. What matters is that the behavior changed.

We have faith that our magick works because we have no proof. We have faith that the Gods exist because we have no proof. What a boring world it would be if we needed proof for everything. There would be no little miracles or mysteries left for us.

(Meditate on these ideas for several consecutive days)

Meditation on the Law of Thelema

Meditation on the Law of Thelema

Wicca was started by Gerald Gardner sometime in the forties. His new religion was a mish-mash of philosophies ranging from traditional English folk religions, Ceremonial Magick, and the works of several fraternal organizations. He was also a follower of Alistaire Crowley’s work, and this had some degree of influence on the original ideals of Wicca. Crowley’s followers tended towards using the Law of Thelema as it became known. “Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the Law. Love under Will.”

The Rede itself is an altered, and simplified, version of this Law. This can be taken literally, just as any rule or law can be when a person does not wish to think about the meaning of it or the spirit of the law. By examining the underlying meaning, however, a person is able to understand the morality that is attached to it.

The first part, “Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law” is often taken alone, without the remaining parts, in order to justify doing whatever a person wishes to do without thought of the effects it will have on others. When looked at closer, though, it becomes plain that this is not what the statement means. First, the capitalization alone tends to call attention to the important factors.

This emphasis on Will and Law are very important. The capitalization of Law makes one believe that there are absolute laws and rules guiding our lives and paths, and that breaking these laws is a “bad thing.” What might result from doing these bad things is left to the imagination of the practitioner. How, then, is a person supposed to know what the Laws are and how not to break them? This is done by living according to Will. Will, in this case, is not living by however you want to live. It is living by True Will, the path that is laid out before us at the time of our birth. By following Will, we stay on that path and do not stray from it.

Many traditions believe that a person can know their path and their true Will by listening to the Self, the soul, or to God. It is an intrinsic path that is a part of each person, if they can only find and listen to it. It will tell them the right thing to do and how to do it. The first part of the Law of Thelema, then, tells a person how to live. Follow your true path and only your true path.

The next part tells us what the Law itself is. “Love is the Law.” Love, here, is not passionate love, romantic love, or any of the things that humans think about when they think of love. Instead it is an expression of the Divine in a person and what holds the universe together. It is the ability to sacrifice for someone that is a stranger, and it is the love that the Gods have for everything around us. It is the Order of nature and the world that tames Chaos.

This force, though, has to have its own set of restraints, or it, too, would become Chaos in the end. This is the third part of the Law. “Love under Will.” This brings us full circle back to the self. Your true path can tell you what the loving action is that needs to be taken. Sometimes that means healing someone, and sometimes that means cutting them loose to drift until they find their own Will.

When the Rede is looked at in the same manner, remnants of the Law can be seen. “An it harm none, do what thou will.” Looking at the second part first, a faint echo of “Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” However, the emphasis on true will and what the Law is has been removed, leaving a person looking to the first half of the Rede for the way to apply it. “An it harm none” looks nothing like the last half of the Law.

A person is left looking at trying to define harm to understand how they are to live. Harmful is defined as causing or capable of causing harm, or injurious in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Under this definition can be found words such as: malevolent, churlish, bitchy, malicious, catty, spiteful, malignant, treacherous, merciless, vindictive, evil, wickedness, curse, scourge, poison, pest, shame, and abuse. Undoubtedly, these can be bad things, but they still do not tell a person how to apply the Rede. Harm is subjective to the person that is creating it and to the person that is receiving it.

This, then, is why so many people reject the Wiccan Rede in favor of other methods of living a moral life. There are times when being malevolent is what is called for by your Will. If you are following the true path that is yours, then doing such will bring you no harm. There are consequences to every action, including inaction. Examine those consequences in order to see if they are something that can be shouldered easily or if they will be a burden to great to bear before performing an action….in other words….think.

(Meditate on these ideas for several days)

Meditation on the Pentacle

Meditation on the Pentacle

Pick up your pentacle or a rock if you don’t have a pentacle, and see how it integrates itself into you. See how it balances who you are and what your strengths are. Find out for yourself how to draw the pentacle into balancing your weaknesses.

When you find your pentacle, take it to your private place. If you can take time to be outdoors with it, this is even better, but not necessary. Examine it in great detail, finding all its quirks and attributes. Look for tiny cracks and fissures that could widen or break your pentacle after heavy use. It is wise to check from time to time for these things even after you consecrated it. If you use it a great deal, eventually you will have to replace it, as the stresses on it eventually will damage it.

After you feel you can find nothing more out just by looking at it, hold it and get to know the feel of it. Is it heavy? Does it make you feel more within yourself when you hold it? Does it make you think of earth and growing things?

Hold the pentacle close to you so that you and it can begin to work closely together. Meditate with it and see if there is a difference in meditating with or without it. Notice if your circles are more stable with it. Take as much time and as many sessions as you need in order to be positive that this is the right thing for your pentacle.

Meditation on the Wand

Meditation on the Wand
Take your wand with you to your meditation time. See how it fits into all the things that you have found out about yourself and the element of Air. It is what balances out your weaknesses. Find out how the interaction of the wand and your own self create one unified whole to allow you to work with Air completely.
Once you have truly seen your wand, lift it up. Feel the weight of it and the balance of it. Hold it to you so that it can learn about you. Listen and see how it reacts, learn about its skills and knowledge. You will find that your wand, like all your tools, has its own personality and ideas. This is what you must learn to work with. Once you can, it will help you to bring what you wish into being as well as calling it down and directing it.

Meditation on the Wand and Air

Meditation on the Wand and Air
Think of a dark winter night, cold and harsh. This is the power of the North, of Air. It is the time of midnight, a dark so black that it is almost impossible to see. The wind is bitter and biting, desolate. The snow howls through the land echoing the call of the wolf as he hunts the stag. It is a time to be tested for survival to see how we will fare. Only the strong can survive it. Only those who plan can live through it.
This biting power can also sweep away stagnation and ready us for new things to come. It has the energy to sweep away stagnation and cobwebs. In the early spring, the wind howls just as strongly, but it brings with it the touch of new growth and the coming warmth.
Air is the thinking element, associated with the mind and with creativity. It brings us inspiration and new ideas. This element can help us to create innovative solutions to problems that have existed for many years.
Air is also a destructive force. Each thing in existence has a creative and destructive side. The destructive side of air is the storm, the tornado, the hurricane. It destroys what is not stable and supportive. It shakes up the existing arrangements of things. When one of these storms blows through, things die and make room for the new that will follow.
Both of these are the power of the Air and the North. It holds the power of tornados and the power of new growing things. As we look at the phases of the moon, at this time she is dark, hiding her face from all. It is a time for introspection and rest. Divination is a favored activity at this time as the Goddess rests.
The Wand is closely tied to the element of air. It is the tool that we call things into being with and the tool that we use to ask for blessings. It also has the characteristics of air, that being those of holding creativity and inspiration, thinking and planning, the ability to find new solutions.
Imagine the power of the wind. It can be soft and gentle, blowing across the land in a sun-warmed kiss of spring. It can also be the destructive force of the tornado and the hurricane. The wand, representative of the power of Air, the element of the wind, can be just such a tool. It is the tool representative of the powers of Air and of the North. It holds the power of survival and represents the ability to think and learn.
Wands can be anything that you choose. It can be a branch of hawthorn or a pewter wand with a crystal on the end. Of all the tools, the wand is often the most whimsical, reminding the witch that the religion is not all seriousness and formality. This is a tool of invoking and of calling something into your presence. It is something that you should feel comfortable with and should be non-threatening looking.

5-Minute Meditation: Light-Song

5-Minute Meditation: Light-Song – By Avalon De Witt

Sit quietly in a comfortable place with your eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Listening to the rhythm of your breath, feel your body relaxing from the top of your head, all the way down to the tips of your toes…

Begin to form a vivid picture in your mind. See before you a large golden chalice, spilling over with a pale green light. The soft glow of this light is calming to look at and seems to emanate a sound like a thousand angels singing…

Let this light-born music become clearer and more vibrant. Notice how the light-song harmonizes with your heart beat. You can sense a healing power in the lilting melody that is already making you feel lighter…

Visualize yourself reaching out with your hands cupped together and dipping into the green light as though it were a pool of cool water…

Now ease your hands toward your your heart center and let the green light gently penetrate you there. Allow this gentle green light to expand in your heart and throughout your body filling you with immense joy, bringing a smile to your face…

Feel the song of this light dancing within you, moving through your bloodstream, washing away all your stresses and worries. Observe the way your body responds to the comforting, harmonious music freeing your mind, balancing you…

Spend as long as you like reveling in the relaxation of this tender light-song. Hear it flowing through you, cleansing you completely. Enjoy the feelings of peace and contentment, and remember that you can take in this beautiful light song any time you wish…

Gradually deepen your breath and return to the moment. Bring your attention back to the room. Gently move your fingers and toes and slowly open your eyes. This is a wonderful way to release anxiety and lift your spirits any time of day.